Oh Cam!

Oh Cam Newton!

As you may have heard the Carolina Panthers player was highly amused to be asked a question by a female.

The 28-year-old explained that he found it “funny to hear a female” talk about sport. Now he wasn't just talking about any female, which would be bad enough. He was talking about Jourdan Rodrique -  a sports reporter for the Charlotte Observer.

It's not sport! It's just a little pervy now.

I don't know about you but I'm getting a little sick and tired of sports media's obsession with the partners of sports stars. In particular the wives and girlfriends of footballers.

I’m not sure about you, but I’ve never seen articles about the attractiveness of someone else’s wife (or girlfriend) as something I really want to see on a regular basis. And definitely not something I would expect to see under the header of Sport and/or Football. In fact I’d expect to see it in the journal of a prepubescent teenager who had just discovered the channels that only start at midnight!

Apologies because it’s not my intention to be flippant, but if I’m not then all I keep thinking about is how disgustingly pervy it all is. Because let’s be frank, it bloody is!

Is your personal life so lacking, that you have nothing better to do than dribble over pictures of women who are already involved? Even Nuts realised that wasn’t working any more!

Not only does it suggest that our so-called gutter press are actually camped out in bunkers underground, but it leaves me with wider concerns about sports journalism and my place in it.

Like every journalist, I’ve had to write stuff that I didn’t necessarily enjoy creating or feel was necessary. It’s what you do when you are building a career. You bite your tongue and attempt to get your head down.

It’s something I’ve struggled with, without ever being asked to rate the partners of a team of footballers. Anyone who knows me will know that that particular situation would not have ended well.

I understand not all journalists have the freedom to write what they would like, but I can imagine that after spending grands to get their degree or sports journalism diploma you’d be pretty pissed spending your afternoon’s deciding whose missus is more of a ten.

Honestly, is this really what it’s come to? Are we so desperate to create masses of 24-hour photo-story content that we unnecessarily delve into players family lives, with the possible fallout leading to even less women in sports media because they feel uncomfortable producing trash like that.

I haven’t included the article’s in question because I don’t see the point. We all know who and what I’m referring to. And if you don’t, just look for the anger on my twitter timeline.

But seriously we have to get past this kind of caveman style journalism. Surely it will only serve to damage our fragile industry and put some amazing people off working in it.

Here's an idea; if you are so damn keen to feature attractive women in your sports pages, then why don't you bother to write about our amazing sportswomen. Our football and netball stars, our medal winning athletes who continue to fight the sexist crap you troll out on a daily basis.

Because YOUR patronising coverage follows them despite their amazing talents. And frankly, they deserve a hell of a lot better from you content editors. I know it's a wild idea gents, but you never know, it just might work...

Jack's back! In trouble. AGAIN.

Jack, Jack, JACK!!!

I felt I needed to shout coz clearly Jack Wilshere is deaf or is just incapable of listening to any of the considered advice he has been offered over the years.

Either he is just determined to aid his injuries in ruining his undoubted talent or maybe he has too much talent to handle. Or maybe I'm just giving an adult father-of-two too much credit for the latest stupid act that will only serve to prove the haters right. The video, pictures and testimonials surrounding Wilshere's drunken night out in London only serves to prove the point many have that young English players have more money and time, than sense. Because why else would he be out creating drama and acting like a teenager who has raided their parents drinks cabinet when first-team action and a possible trip to Euro 2016 in France are on the cards?

It angers me, and not just because I'm a Gooner. Is there anything more frustrating that wanting someone to prove you wrong yet they continue to prove you right?

I remember watching a teenage Jack boss the midfield against Wigan in a Capital One Cup game which saw the Londoners run out 6-0 winners. It's rare I rave about a player, but it was clear that day the boy had the ability AND the passion to make it to the top. And I laughed with everyone else when he drunkingly sang that Tottenham song as the open top bus drove the FA Cup winners around Islington. While heavily intoxicated. But maybe we shouldn't have been laughing. I'm not suggesting that Wilshere is following the path trodden by former England stars Tony Adams and Paul Gascoigne, in fact I pray he isn't, but he does appear to have a control problem. And for a professional sportsman, particularly one who has suffered the injuries that he has, that could well be equally as damaging. I'm not suggesting he live like a monk but there has to be a point when he starts to make better choices in life, not only for his career but for his children who will grow up witnessing their Dad's every exploit on the internet.

Because for all his talent, eventually those in charge will lose patience with his pathetic off-field behaviour. It is one thing to damage your own reputation, but quite another when you start to damage that of your employer.

I hope the midfielder looks at the videos and pictures circulating and feels embarrassed, because frankly, I feel embarrassed for him. I hope he realises that if he really wants to get drunk and act the fool, he's better off doing it in his lush million pound house. I hope someone he listens to gives him the kick up the arse that he clearly needs.

And I sincerely hope my fears for his career are wrong.

Big Sam: The Right Man

In the era of super-agents and multimillionaire teenagers, it often feels like the Premier League is a weird nation all by itself. That's why the appointment of 'Big' Sam Allardyce as Sunderland manager is one of the most sensible decisions we've seen in a while.


Just eight games into the campaign many felt the club was already drowning in the choppy waters of relegation. Last season's saviour Dick Advocaat has left to return to the peaceful sanctuary of retirement, even sporting director Lee Congerton was rumoured to have his life jacket ready earlier this month. The Black Cats were in dire need of a new man - and for once - Ellis Short has picked the perfect one in the shape of the former West Ham boss.


Were it not for the arrival of the charismatic Jürgen Klopp in Merseyside the previous day, we would all be hailing the former defenders return to the managerial hotseat. A move that could dramatically alter the trajectory of the Wearsiders.


They currently sit 19th in the table and the only part of that which will please the Sunderland faithful, is the fact that the team below them are neighbours and local rivals Newcastle United. Although they are only there because of goal difference. Even the bookmakers continue to class them as favourites to start next season in the Championship, pricing them at 11/10 to finish bottom of the pile. Which would be the nightmare scenario for all involved with the new TV deal kicking in next year.


Allardyce takes the job after his unceremonious sacking by the Hammers in May. And while his new team need a boss with the nous to navigate the worlds most competitive league, he also needs a fanbase who will back him - and possibly, more importantly - one who want him there. Despite having taken the Londoners back to the top flight, the 60-year-old never really had the backing of the Upton Park faithful. They saw his result-driven style as the antithesis of their self-proclaimed West Ham Way. Many outside the club felt it was a harsh assessment, but it wasn't the first time he found himself at a club with unsupportive fans. The least said about his time at St. James' Park the better.


That said, it is ridiculous to expect him to suddenly turn the squad into world beaters. He may be many things but I don't have Sam down as a magician! The Stadium of Light houses a football club whose problems have been visible and multiplying for several years, and somewhat naively Short and his board have sat and watched it happen. Yes, Allardyce's welcome to the club is aided by the fact that he both played and coached there in times gone by, but that will count for nothing if they continue to struggle.


They had a win ratio of 26% in 2013/14 which shrank to 18% the following campaign as they won just seven games, the same as bottom club Queens Park Rangers. Of their last 84 league games they have lost 39 and it was only their ability to draw that kept them eating at the top table last season.


Now that his players are back from international duty, you can be sure they'll all have been made aware of how life will be in Sam's World. Hopefully they won't have to give up their ketchup this time.
His first game is against a club managed by another manager known for his relegation prevention techniques. But he won't take Tony Pulis' side lightly even if they have only scored six goals this season, in comparison to Sunderland's eight. Allardyce will be hoping for at least a point in the Midlands, but he may feel the result is secondary to the performance of his team. In their eight games until now the work application at times, has been unacceptable for a professional football team with fans leaving early to ensure their feelings are known. Big Sam will not settle for half measures.


He's known as a man who believes in a high work ethic and it's fair to assume he will be paying close attention to whatever data the analyst shares with him. It is key the players know that at the final whistle or maybe even half-time their boss will know how far they have run, how many tackles they have failed to win and where they were on the pitch. They will have nowhere to hide. There will be no excuses anymore and the bad apples will swiftly be pressed into juice. But that is exactly what this squad of overpaid misfits, failures and mercenaries need in order to repay the 45,000 supporters who deserve far more than the dross they have been subjected to for months.


For now they have a steady hand at the helm. Someone who understands the Premier League and more importantly, someone who knows what it takes to keep a team in the top flight.


Safety is a long way off for a team that hasn't won a game this season, but there aren't many who would bet against Allardyce keeping them up. For a start, he won't want a northeast relegation on his CV if he is to finally get the Real Madrid job!


Whatever may be; they have got the right man for the job at hand and I personally hope he gives the Stadium of Light faithful something to smile about, because they damn sure deserve it.


With the fans behind the team, the players getting their heads out of their rears and the board backing their new man in the January transfer window, well it may not be such a bad season after all.

The Beautiful Hypocrisy

I'm beginning to wonder if in ten or 15 years time we will be discussing the career of Raheem Sterling as a cautionary career tale for all young footballers. As I previously did here about Nile Ranger, or how many in football discuss the many, many curious transfers of nomadic former French international Nicolas Anelka.

Because, as of right now everything about a fledgling career that was looking extremely good is being diminished with each passing fan comment, journalists tweet and ex-players column. No one is doubting the winger's obvious talent or the difference he made at times to a stuttering Liverpool side but all that work that was applauded on the pitch is quickly being whitewashed by his behaviour off it. And should he fail to meet the potential that was discussed when he was a teenager at Queens Park Rangers, minds more astute than my own will recall this period in his career.

Just one thing after another in this game we love

I was hoping my next blog would be something a little lighter, something a bit more happy or positive. But yet again it's been another week of football life where it's left me feeling like I could easily rip all my hair out.

Actually, there was something that made me smile. It's great to see how well the England u21's are doing, at a time when we often despair at the state of our national team. Gareth Southgate has gone about his business quietly and got a lot of talented youngsters playing some good football. A fact we all hope will benefit the seniors over the next few years.

Quick to cuss, yet not so quick to compliment...

I have to admit, I have a lot of time for what is going on at St. Mary's Stadium; and not just because they play in red and white!

The football fan in me will always root for the underdog - unless they're Anderlecht - and as cheesy as it sounds, one of the smaller boys going up against the so called top tier of the Premier League will always make me smile.

Do you ever feel like the clowns are running the circus?

I don't know about you lot but I love a good comedy, me. Sometimes I'm partial to an old classic; a bit of Only Fools and Horses or Desmond's. Other days it's all about the noughties; Nighty Night, Gavin and Stacey and the soon-to-be no more, Peep Show.

But right now, most of my laughs (and eye-rolling) seem to be because of football's various governing bodies. The League Managers Association (LMA), the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). The latter being a group that seems to be so far up its own posterior, that it's just in a continual cycle of regurgitating itself.

Third Time Lucky for The Elephants?

The Ivory Coast is probably the African team littered with the most well known stars in England; most notably Premier League champion, Yaya Toure and former Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba. With no less than eight of the 23 man squad having played in the – self proclaimed – Greatest League in the World.

But you have to wonder if the 23 individuals will make a good enough team to compete at the World Cup; especially with a group consisting of Colombia, Japan and Greece.

While it may not be the most attractive group in terms of popular countries – hipsters excluded, all three have enough about them to get out of the group and none will be easy for any team to overcome in the heat and humidity of Brazil.

125 of one and 125 of the other.

Rachel Yankey won her 125th cap for England on Sunday. Her 125th international cap.
You would think that would be something to praise and celebrate, wouldn't you? But apparently not.
Apparently the fact that she is only a woman, means that it isn't relevant or important or any sort of achievement in the slightest.

I would laugh, if it wasn't so damn disrespectful, patronising and sexist.  But was I surprised? Hell no, because I'm beginning to expect nothing less.  As disappointing as that is for me to admit.

Last September when Yankey became England's most capped outfield player, I did an exclusive interview with her.  She was a pleasure to speak too, as always.  As I'm freelance, I contacted several publications - as I always do - to see if they would be interested in featuring a wonderful player talking about her special moment. Those that got back to me, did not.  I often hear that readers don't want to read about women's football, but how do we know if they are not given the option. Readers don't look for women's football, because they don't expect it to be there, it's a vicious circle that needs to be broken.  The only publication that were happy to print the article were The Voice, who then featured it on their back page as the lead sports story.

Admittedly, it may have been me and not the article that they didn't want.  But I'm not being arrogant when I say that I think it was the subject matte,r they weren't interested in.  Despite all the right things that were muttered after our women's national team put on such a successful showing at London 2012, we can all see nothing much has really changed.

So, on Monday I went through the papers and their websites as I always do.  And I was surprised, some had actually taken notice of what must be the proudest moment in the midfielder's life.  I was happy, no scratch that, ecstatic to see that Yankey and women's football in general were getting some much needed and deserved recognition.  And about time too!  Until I looked at the comments below the line.  A fellow, more experienced sports journalist once told me: 'Never look below the line'.  After all this time, you would think I would've learnt.  Because he's normally bloody right!

The majority of that negative consensus was that the Arsenal star's achievement had no right being compared to Peter Shilton's because women's football isn't at the same level as its male counterpart.  And later that night on Twitter, there were similar statements as well as the woefully sexist: 'So what?'

Just to clear something up, no one is comparing women's football to the men's game.  No one is comparing Yankey to David Beckham.  We wouldn't compare Beth Tweddle to Louis Smith, nor Christine Ohuruogu to Michael Johnson, would we?  So why can we not have the same respect in football that we show to the competitors in athletics.

Yankey's achievement should be celebrated for the amazing individual benchmark that it is and we should be proud to say she is English and has been so committed to her national team over such a lengthy period of time.  Particularly given the fact that when she first started her journey, she played alongside the boys because there were no women's team for her to compete in.  Funny how she was good enough for the boys then...

The joke is; those that say her record number of caps is irrelevant because she supposedly plays at a lower standard, would still celebrate or congratulate a San Marino player who reaches the same number.  Even though their FIFA ranking makes theirs the lowest standard of all.

I don't care who you are, to appear so many times for your country at the highest level available to you, is amazing. 

So the next time those people are making their sarcastic comments, maybe they should sit and think. 

About what they have achieved in their life, about the disrespect they show to someone who has spent their whole life trying to achieve their dream.

And about England's equal most capped football player.  Who just happens to be a Woman...

"Football?" "But you're a girl." "Yeah. No shit, Sherlock!"

"Wow! Sports journalism. That's a different job for a girl."

"Have you always been into sports?"

"Did you used to play football?"

"How did you get into that?"

All questions I am used to being asked on a regular basis. And nearly four years ago when I committed to this as a career, it used to bother me.  Deep down, it may still do.  But I know longer feel the need to react or come out with a barbed comment.

There's a few reasons for that, the main one is I feel a lot more secure about my capabilities as a sports journalist.  But more importantly as a female sports journalist.

Now, I'm not attempting to be self-effacing when I say this. But I, Natasha Henry am not the best journalist in the world.  No, seriously, I'm not. 

I still feel I'm pretty new to all this and with every period of time that passes I aim to get better and improve my skills.  As anyone should, whatever career they're in.  The way I see it, the day you stop learning is the day you might as well give it all up.  Why should the field of journalism be any different?

Thankfully, I'm not the only one.  Female or sports journalist!

Contrary to popular belief, there are quite a bloody lot of us.  Some would call us a coven, personally I would describe us a more mature sorority.  One that would rather be on the field, than waving pom-poms on the side-line.  And more importantly, one that drinks really good wine and likes really nice food.

And do you know what, we're good.  We're damn good.  We know our stuff, we graft hard and most importantly we have the courage to fight the negativity that - far too often - floats our way.  I know about our capabilities, but I wasn't sure if others did.

I was curious about this, which was why I created the survey earlier this year, to see what others thoughts were, regarding us women that write about sport.

Some of the answers surprised me, and some didn't.  But it's always good to see what people think about something you care strongly about.

So, I'll be posting the article later today and feel free to comment, share or ignore.  It's up to you.

Hopefully it will remind you that the gender of the writer doesn't matter, it's only the words that do.

To be continued...

Only a Phonecall Away.

He's in the squad.
But he's not going.
He is going.
Now he's definitely not.

Not a moment too quick, the Rio Ferdinand and England drama has come to an end. The joke is, it could have all been prevented if Roy Hodgson had just bothered to pick up the phone. It's so simple, it's not even funny.

For months, the whispers to recall Ferdinand have got louder and the England manager finally decided to listen yet doing it in the manner that he did; hasn't done him any favours.

We can all agree that the defender currently playing for the Champions-elect is not the injury-hit player of 18 months ago. His performances and the injuries and inconsistency of others, means he fully deserves a place in the squad. If not the team.

It was clear that Ferdinand and the medical team at Manchester United had worked hard to find a system that allowed him to play regularly, without any serious problems. So it's curious that the England boss didn't think to contact the club and/or the player before calling him up.

Given the way the defender was left at home prior to Euro 2012, some may also feel an apology should have been on offer. He was clearly aggrieved by Hodgson's decision to more-or-less take John Terry's side, while there are also the 'football reasons' that have never quite been explained.

Sir Alex Ferguson's comments last week were no surprise. The manager has long been vocal that Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs' decisions to retire, helped them prolong their club careers. But as well as thinking about the best interests of his club, he is thinking about the best interests of his player. At the age of 34, the former Leeds star is in the last lap of his top-flight career, it is logical that he would also want to ensure it lasts as long as possible.

That is why it is understandable the player has pulled out of the double header against San Marino and Montenegro. Two games that require a fair amount of travel and also games that England should win without too much fuss. The decision to meet and explain to the manager, makes it hard for many to question Ferdinand's motives or doubt his commitment to his national side.

As for Hodgson, it could be said he won't come out of this so well. His subdued character is a stark change from previous national managers such as Fabio Capello, but it appears to be working well enough with two wins and two draws from four qualifying games.

But you have to admit, this situation could have been easily prevented. That much is clear. Hodgson or his team don't appear to be on the ball in regards to what is going on with English players. An area they should know inside and out. Surely that is part of his job description?

Maybe this is the time for the England manager to become more thorough, and make sure he knows exactly what is going on with the professionals who are available to play for him.

Because when or if things go wrong, he may end up looking like a bit of a bumbling fool.

The Curious Tale of Nile Ranger

What do you call someone who has been arrested six times since May 2011?

Well, probably not a successful professional footballer.  Which I'm guessing is why Newcastle United announced they had cancelled Nile Ranger's contract last week.

Ranger's is a curious situation. A former forward for England's under-19 team - playing 11 games and scoring six goals. Yet he now finds himself without a club and possibly, without a future in the game at the age of just 21.

And the worst thing about the whole matter is the fact that it's not really a surprise.
His first serious brush with the law came at the age of 15.  The teenager was convicted of participating in a street robbery and sentenced to 11 weeks in a youth offenders institute.

Now I'm not one for judging someone by a mistake or the errors they made in their younger years, as we've all made mistakes.  None of us are infallible.

But despite the talent he is lucky enough to have and the opportunities this has afforded him, Ranger doesn't appear to have learnt anything since that very first offence.

He has continued to position himself in both compromising and illegal situations.

His rap sheet consists of; assault, being drunk and disorderly and criminal damage.  The most worrying and most recent charge is the suspicion of rape.  A case that is currently ongoing at the time of writing.

And that doesn't even include The Football Association fine for posting tweets deemed to be homophobic, the breach of bail, the photo of himself with a replica gun or the evening he kicked his front door down because he believed his girlfriend was being kidnapped.

There is an urge to giggle reading the latter or chastise him for wasting the lifestyle that so many crave, but I can't help but wonder if there is a bigger issue behind all these incidents.

As far as we know the Londoner doesn't have any addictions, but it's obvious he enjoys a drink given the incidents he's been involved in.  Maybe it is the company he keeps or his crew as the kids call it.  It is not uncommon for high earners to attract hanger-on's whose only aim is to get them to spend money.  The type of people who couldn't care less about whether Ranger will be late for training again.

Of course that doesn't make him the innocent party, he is an adult and at his age should know right from wrong.  But we all know the saying: if you lay down with dogs, you're gonna get fleas.
But any sympathy starts to wane when you also consider his conduct in and around the club.  While his 51 League appearances only yielded three goals. Habitually tardy for sessions, he had been demoted and was actually training with the reserves the week he was charged with being drunk and disorderly.  A charge that eventually led to a £135 fine and six-month conditional discharge.

Admittedly Ranger isn't the first and won't be the last to mess up, but my hope is that he is still young enough to see what's going on and redirect himself from this negative path he appears to be on.
Maybe there is an underlying issue, whether that be an addition or something relating to his mental health.  Something he can seek help for, work on and move forward from.  Both are illnesses that affect a higher percentage of sportspeople, than the national average. It's feasible that Ranger could be one of those.

In a way I hope he does have an issue, because at least then he can seek help from The PFA and others.  Then he can find a way to deal with it, rebuild his reputation and attempt to kick-start his career.

Yet at the same point; maybe there is nothing wrong, maybe that's just how he is. Maybe I'm just trying to understand why a young guy would continue to act out and make his position at a club untenable. Instead of putting yourself in situations that are preventable.  As right now, I can't understand why you wouldn't just keep your head down and put your graft in on the pitch.
And I'll tell you why.

Because the alternative is that he just doesn't care, and to me that's the scariest scenario of them all.

A Step in the Right Direction

The news that Lazio will be made to play two games behind closed doors suggests that football's top table may finally be catching up with the rest of us, when it comes to dealing with racism.

Following the fourth incident this season of racism by their fans, UEFA have ordered the Italian club to play their next two competitive European games behind closed doors. (As well as a €40,000 fine, which is pretty much irrelevant in this case.) The first game will be their Europa League last-16 tie against Stuttgart on March 14.

As we know, this wasn't the first time or a solitary incident involving a handful of people. There had been three previous occasions where supporters actions had drawn negative attention to the club. There were issues both home and away against Tottenham, as well as when they hosted Maribor in the group stages. The straw that broke the camels back came against Borussia Monchengladbach when around 300 fans were observed making Nazi salutes.

I'm not going to suggest this is a racist club because many clubs - including those in England - have bigots posing as fans. But the fact that there were that many problems in such a short space of time, must raise questions for those at the helm of the club. This is not a new problem or a first offence, which suggests whatever has been tried to stop it and them hasn't worked.

So for Claudio Lotito to call the punishment 'abnormal and absured'; is frankly naive and well, absurd.

UEFA have a responsibility to all of us, not the feelings of any individual club. And for once, they appear to be acting on behalf of the 'us'.

The two lost match day's will lose the club millions, a significant amount for a top flight club in today's economic climate.

As owner/president Lotito told RaiSport: "It will seriously damage the club economically and stop the fans from participating in the event.

"We cannot as a club be penalised for the mistakes of a small minority."

But that where he's wrong, the authorities can and they have too. Because it is the only way the idiots will learn, by being restricted and prevented from doing what they want.

Of course it's unfortunate for the thousands of decent fans. But if it's the only way to ensure a club deals with the scum, then the end will justify the means.

The club already had a suspended sentence hanging over their head, so in their continual fight to regain some credibility UEFA had to act. And rightly did.

Hopefully this will be the precedent for club's being punished. It may take time, but it can only help and encourage club's to rid their stadiums of racists and racist action.

Which is why they've hit Lazio where all businesses feel it most, in their pocket.

The club had already been warned, which means their fans had already been warned. Yet the latter chose to continue with their behaviour, so rightly the club has now been punished for that.

In his interview with RaiSport, the owner adds: "Everyone knows how much we did to prevent this sort of thing from happening."

Well, whatever you did Mr Lotito, it wasn't enough. Maybe now everyone will do a little bit more.

A Little Help Please

Hi guys,

I'm doing a survey on 'Females in the Sports Writing Industry' and I would really appreciated you taking two minutes to fill it out.

There's only nine questions, and of course it's completely confidential.

Just go here.

Thanks in advance,
Natasha x

Praise the Career, Ignore the Character

Peter Shilton, David Beckham, Bobby Moore, Sir Bobby Charlton, Billy Wright, Steven Gerrard.  And tonight against Brazil; Ashley Cole will join that sacred club of players who have been capped 100 times for England.

I genuinely believe that Cole deserves to take his place in history and write his name in the record books.
As a Gooner, I may have had my issues with the Chelsea player in the past; but as a football fan it is virtually impossible to see why his ability isn't celebrated in the same way as past and current teammates such as Beckham and Gerrard.

For me, he has been the most consistent England international of the last decade and I would imagine the first name on most England boss' teamsheets.

As well as the 99 caps he's collected in an England shirt, he has made 359 league appearances for Arsenal, Chelsea and Crystal Palace; where he spent time on loan.

Since his senior début in 1998; Cole has won three Premier League titles, SEVEN FA Cups, one League Cup, three Community Shields and ol' big ears himself; the Champions League. Not many Englishmen can boast a bigger haul than that.

Admittedly, the defender has made mistakes in his life. But which one of us can say we haven't?
The point is his personal errors should not detract from what has been and continues to be an amazing career, in an age where many young players fall off the radar after a handful of games. The skill and commitment it takes to play a century of games for your country is rare and something to be heavily championed.

As part of the so-called Golden Generation that has failed time and again, the Londoner has never once been accused of not giving his all or being a shirker when the game is going against England.

So tonight when his name is called out, I hope the Wembley crowd cheer the man for what he has achieved in his career and the standard he has maintained over the last 14 years. Rather than the mistakes he has made to make him end up as this weeks tabloid fodder.

So Natasha Says: The Podcast

A few quick thoughts on some of this weekend's games in the Premier League.  Feel free to share, follow and comment.

I did a podcast!

Check out this episode on my podcast "It's North London Derby time!": http://podOmatic.com/r/tkYIe

Time to smell the coffee.

Yesterday was a bad day for everyone involved with Arsenal. The 2-1 defeat at Manchester United could have been worse, a hell of a lot worse. Yet, after last season's game a part of me is just glad we got off so lightly.

It's ridiculous to think I found relief in the fact we only lost to our biggest rivals by the odd goal. Except they are no longer our rivals, not in the way they used to or should be for that matter. Times are a changing. United have graduated, and we've been made to repeat the year. Again, and again, and... Well you get the picture.

The most depressing thing about yesterdays game is that we were never at the races. We looked like a newly promoted team who were just happy not to concede too many! There was no part of us that appeared to believe we could or would win. It was embarrassing and for Arsenal football club, it was completely unacceptable.

This is the club that pipped Liverpool to the title in 1989, the club that went 49 league games unbeaten, the same manager that took a team to the San Siro and beat Inter Milan 5-1.

But we don't look anything like that club anymore, and in truth it is breaking my heart. I don't remember a day when I wasn't a Gooner, and I know that day will never come. But that doesn't mean I can't be real and see what's wrong with the club that I love.

It kills me to say it, but I really feel it is time for Mr Wenger to hang up his puffa coat. I don't say it lightly, I'm the sort of person that likes AW more than I do some members of my family!

But let's get this straight. The club is stagnating, to the point where I wouldn't be surprised to see us in the Europa League next year! Unthinkable I know, but on recent showing it's extremely possible. And when things go wrong at a club, the manager has to take responsibility. Given how long he has had to change and improve things, the only option is for him to go.

It's not just the loss at Old Trafford. It's everything. The late attempts to renew contacts of players, the money sitting in the bank, the hesitancy to spend on real top draw players.
The lack of ambition on and of the pitch, the lethargy of the players, this belief that Champions League qualification is 'good enough'.

Admittedly, it isn't just Mr Wenger to blame. The board have to take a long hard look at themselves and decide whether they want to increase their wealth or actually make us successful again. Right now, it seems like the former. I mean, could you imagine the CEO of Tesco getting a bonus for being the fourth best supermarket in the country? No, me neither.

Right now everything is wrong from top to bottom, and it's been going wrong since the departure of David Dein. He was the boss' best friend and right hand man, he protected him from the pressure and made him see sense. Clearly no one is doing that now or the list of players we missed out on would not be growing every transfer window.

The team isn't good enough, the recruitment process isn't good enough. Which means that the manager is no longer good enough.

He's had a great run and has been responsible for some of the best memories we will ever have as Arsenal fans. But unless there is some radical change in the next few months - which I doubt - then this season should be his last.

And who to replace him, you ask?

Roberto Martinez fits the bill for me. He's done his apprenticeship at Wigan, he knows the Premier League and he plays the game the right way.

I've always supported Mr Wenger but I can't see a way back from the drivel and nervousness we see on the pitch now.

If he doesn't go, I will still support him and the club. Because that's what fans should do. But it doesn't mean I won't be seeing the truth.

And before you start labelling me; I'm not Wenger Out.

I'm just Arsenal Up.

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Where The Hell Is Michael G-Owen!

I dunno about you, but there's something extremely sad about watching a player once billed as 'England's greatest striker'; hawking himself around every Premier League club in the hope of getting a contract before the end of the summer transfer window.

But unfortunately, that's the situation we now have with former Liverpool front man Michael Owen. No longer a young whippet, but a 32-year-old with a chequered injury history and quiet questions about his interest in the game overall.